Board Chair Lee Morgan Discusses Faculty Searches
An open letter from the American Association of University Professors to Antioch College
Inside Higher Ed: AAUP and Antioch Spar Over Faculty Hires
Laura Fathauer: Tenure, Curriculum, and the Antioch College Faculty
Last weekend the American Association of University Professors, or AAUP, officially voted to sanction Antioch University for infringements of governance standards for actions related to the closing of Antioch College. Among other findings, the investigative team concluded that the closing of the college was unnecessary, as the university failed to complete due diligence in pursuing alternatives to declaring financial exigency for the college and shuttering the doors to its historic residential campus.
An independent investigating committee of the AAUP, which is the national advocacy group for college professors, voted last month to recommend the sanction, and over the weekend over 300 faculty who gathered at the organization’s annual meeting voted to make the sanction official. The university joins three other institutions on the sanctioned list, including Lindenwood College in Missouri, Elmira College in New York and Miami Dade College in Florida.
In response this week, Antioch University Chancellor Toni Murdock said that the AAUP report contained 140 errors and was “flawed.” The university posted a 50-page response to the report on its Web site last fall, addressing the errors and asserting that the university based its decisions on the college’s budgetary crisis, which in the end imperiled the entire university system.
The AAUP began its investigation of the university in the spring of 2009, after Antioch College faculty lodged complaints regarding the university’s decision to close Antioch College in June 2008. The faculty organization issued a report of its findings last fall, summarizing the university’s failure to follow through with its own bylaws on shared governance, especially with regard to college faculty.
The vote this week, according to AAUP Associate Secretary Anita Levy, means that the university does not comply with AAUP recommended standards for faculty involvement in the leadership of the institution and its five campuses. The listing may be a warning for faculty who are looking for jobs and for students who care that faculty voices be afforded appropriate weight in the governance of their institution, Levy said. The AAUP will endeavor to work with Antioch University to help correct their governance issues, if the university leaders are willing, Levy said.
Beyond criticizing the university’s past decisions, the AAUP report also asserts that the “Antioch University administration has demonstrated a strong inclination toward secrecy…and top-down command and control of communication.” The document included as examples gag orders on faculty not to talk to the press about plans for the new McGregor building, and also testimony from former College President Steve Lawry that he was pressured to sign a statement agreeing that advocating for an independent board of trustees for the college would be grounds for his dismissal. He refused to sign.
The report concludes with a warning: “Without developing a tenure system and strong system of shared governance in which the faculty have the freedom to express their viewpoints without fear of repercussion, what is envisioned [a robust, collaborative academic institution] is highly unlikely to be achieved.”
Murdock dismissed the AAUP’s move as inconsequential to the university, whose reputation she perceives as still strong.
“I’m not concerned about the reputation of the university — enrollments are stable and growing, and we’re excited about our new structure,” she said, adding that university leaders have long been in the process of evaluating faculty’s role in the governance of the school.
As chairman of the Antioch University Board of Governors, Art Zucker said on Tuesday that he was “terribly disappointed” with the AAUP report, which he felt was “unfair to the university” and prejudiced by the president of the AAUP, Cary Nelson, who is married to a former Antioch University board member. Nelson had recused himself from the investigation.
Zucker also said that the university and 60 faculty members will meet on June 25 to begin to create a shared governance structure with the faculty. The university will be responsive to the AAUP on this issue as well, he said.
“The future of the institution is dependent on the continued involvement and competency of our excellent faculty,” he said. “It’s time for people to look forward.”
The AAUP report also encouraged the Antioch College Continuation Corporation to reinstate the faculty whose contracts were wrongly terminated with the college closing. The report urges the college in its new incarnation to uphold the standards of tenure and shared governance that have been part of the college’s mission since its inception.
By Diane Chiddister On Friday, Sept. 4, the keys to Antioch College will be transferred from Antioch University to the Antioch College Continuation Corporation, or ACCC. The action marks the…
This is only a summary, folks. Visit The Record online at http://recordonline.org for the full story!
http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/newsroom/2009PRS/Antioch.htm
The Near-Death Experience of Antioch College: A Cautionary Tale
For Release: September 1, 2009.
Contact: Anita Levy.
Washington, D.C. — What happens when a university’s corporate management betrays the institution’s core educational mission; when it abandons its key constituencies; when it hides its intentions and plans; and when it manipulates or withholds essential financial information? AAUP’s investigative report (http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/protect/academicfreedom/investrep/2009/Antioch.htm) on Antioch University provides disturbing and disheartening answers to these questions.
Antioch College, founded in 1852 in Yellow Springs, Ohio, has had a long history as a pioneer in liberal arts education. Significant innovations, subsequently adopted by many other institutions, have included cooperative education, experiential learning, community governance, recruitment of African-American students before and after Brown vs. Board of Education, and the first study abroad program. Through good times and bad, Antioch has produced distinguished graduates such as Coretta Scott King, Stephen Jay Gould, and Eleanor Holmes Norton. It has received top rankings among colleges whose graduates go on to complete the PhD as well as continuing recognition among small liberal arts colleges in the areas of academic challenge, enriching educational experience, active and collaborative learning, and student-faculty interaction.
The Antioch University administration and board of trustees, in suspending the operations of Antioch College and then proceeding to close the institution on June 30, 2008, appears to have decided that the college’s rich history of progressive education and its residential liberal arts setting were luxuries that its 21st century management philosophy could not afford and did not need. Antioch’s closure is thus of concern both to the Antioch community and to everyone interested in high quality liberal arts higher education.
The report of AAUP’s investigative committee analyzes the protracted dissolution of Antioch College in the light of the Association’s recommended standards for faculty participation in program development, curricular control, budgetary allocation, declaration of financial exigency, and treatment of faculty under such exigency. The report details the gradual deterioration of faculty governance at Antioch through a series of administrative actions over several decades that led ultimately to the closure of the college. Key managerial decisions made by the administration repeatedly disregarded longstanding principles of faculty consultation and shared governance.
Specifically the report reveals that the Antioch University administration:
* usurped the faculty’s responsibilities by mandating a new curriculum that the faculty neither initiated nor approved;
* failed to consult with the faculty regarding the college’s financial condition prior to the declaration of financial exigency and the process by which university administrators and board members had reached that decision;
* violated essential standards for continuing faculty appointments by issuing a declaration of financial exigency without having considered feasible alternatives;
* failed to provide faculty members the right to examine or challenge the decisions both to declare financial exigency and to close the college;
* failed to provide means for the exchange of information between the Antioch College faculty and the Antioch University administration and trustees;
* systematically reduced the flow of budgetary information to the Antioch College faculty and its governance bodies;
* failed to protect the autonomy of Antioch College and, in fact, significantly undermined it by approving a shift of administrative functions from Antioch College to the university administration without ensuring means for communication or sharing of governance;
During its 156-year history, the college had struggled through many hard times but had been sustained by the strong tradition of its faculty’s engagement with enlightened boards, distinguished administrators, eminent alumni, and talented students working together to serve the common good. Fortunately, those devoted to the Antioch tradition have once again taken critical steps toward reopening Antioch College. As announced on June 30, 2009, the governing boards of Antioch University and the college’s alumni have reached agreement on opening a new Antioch College, independent of the university. Reopening is anticipated for fall 2011. Antioch College, it seems, will rise again phoenix-like and survive to continue its tradition of progressive education. But its near demise provides clear and eloquent testimony to the havoc wrought by a board and administration that abandoned their commitment to liberal arts education and to the fundamental principles of shared governance.
AAUP’s report “College and University Government: Antioch University and the Closing of Antioch College” is available on AAUP’s Web site at http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/protect/academicfreedom/investrep/2009/Antioch.htm.
Media inquiries should be directed to Anita Levy, (202) 737-5900, ext. 125, or Robin Burns, (202) 737-5900, ext. 113.
The American Association of University Professors is a nonprofit charitable and educational organization that promotes academic freedom by supporting tenure, academic due process, and standards of quality in higher education. The AAUP has over 48,000 members at colleges and universities throughout the United States.
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
August 31, 2009
Contact: Charla White
734.661.2340
white@glca.org
Parties Work Together to Secure Final Approvals
Two months ago the boards of Antioch University and the Antioch College Continuation Corporation unanimously approved an “asset purchase agreement” that will allow the creation of an independent Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Included in this agreement is the transfer of the historic college campus and its endowment. While the August 31, 2009, deadline included in the asset purchase agreement will pass without a closing and transfer of assets; both parties remain confident that their work will be completed very soon. The deadline was selected by the boards, but with a provision that more time could be allotted to accommodate required reviews and approvals from external agencies. Antioch University and the Antioch College Continuation Corporation continue working together toward the transfer, and anticipate jointly making a public announcement regarding a closing date when these external agencies have completed their work.
“While we cannot yet pin down an exact date or begin to celebrate, we do expect a closing soon,” said Richard Detweiler, President of the GLCA and mediator of a small group of representatives of the University and College alumni that have been working on the transfer since last August.
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Founded in 1962, the Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) is a non-profit organization governed by thirteen selective liberal arts colleges in the Midwest: Albion, Allegheny, Antioch, DePauw, Denison, Earlham, Hope, Kalamazoo, Kenyon, Oberlin, Ohio Wesleyan, Wabash, and Wooster. Its purpose is to strengthen and extend edu- cation in the tradition of the liberal arts and sciences. GLCA often works conjointly with similar associations of liberal arts colleges to enhance the strength and vitality of member institutions. For additional information contact: Charla White at 734.661.2340 or email at white@glca.org.
Celebrating Antioch’s Independence
Antioch College is free from the university and the rebuilding has begun. You’re invited to join the Chicago Chapter of the Antioch College Alumni Association to celebrate Antioch College’s independence.
Featuring Antioch College Chief Transition Officer Matthew Derr ‘89, Assistant Director of Alumni Relations Steven Duffy 77, and College Revival Fund Executive Director Risa Grimes. DJ, dessert and light snacks, cash bar.
Saturday, Aug. 1, 7-11 p.m.
1401 South State Street, 4th Floor Sky Garden, Chicago
RSVP on the event page
or by email
The Future of the College
On June 30 the new board of Antioch College reached a deal with the Antioch University board of governors to transfer ownership to a new independent college.
They plan to complete the transfer of assets, including the campus and endowment, by the end of August, but in the meantime they are working to hire core staff and bring parts of the campus back online.
Matthew Derr has stated the intention to hire 30-35 core employees, including 6-7 core faculty. A search committee composed partly of board members will conduct a national search, with a strong preference for faculty and staff who have previously worked at the college.
Matthew is projecting a $4.5 million operating budget in the coming year, plus some $20 million in deferred maintenance to the campus. The new college is seeking its own accreditation and tentatively aims to admit its first new class of students in 2011. They’ve launched a $2.6 million annual fund to support operations and a $100 million, five-year capital campaign.
For more on the rebuilding of the college
Listen to a July 7 community meeting about plans for the college
Nonstop goes on
The Alumni Board discontinued its funding of the Nonstop Liberal Arts Institute as of June 30. Yet many Antioch College faculty, staff, and students and others who have carried on the college’s legacy of educational innovation at Nonstop are continuing the enterprise.
Working as volunteers and filing for unemployment, they have incorporated Nonstop as an independent corporation and are filing for nonprofit status. They’re seeking outside funding from government and private grants.
At its June meeting, the Alumni Board endorsed a proposal from Nonstop to the Board Pro Tem, including curriculum development, diversity and sustainability initiatives, event and conference planning, and new municipal fiber optic program in collaboration with the village of Yellow Springs,. The board has yet to respond to the proposal.
Donations can be sent to Nonstop Liberal Arts Institute, 305 N. Walnut St. Suite C, Yellow Springs OH 45387.
Alumni Board Elections
Congratulations to Chicago chapter organizer James Hobart ‘58, who was elected in June to serve on the Alumni Board. Jim joins fellow Chicagoan Emily Kirby ‘52 on the Board. Jim will take his seat at the Board’s next meeting in October, which coincides with Reunion ‘09, scheduled to be held Oct. 2-4 on the reoccupied campus.